Shiv Sena threatens release of SRK-Mahira’s ‘Raees’

Shah Rukh Khan’s highly-anticipated action film Raees, which stars Pakistani heartthrob Mahira Khan, now faces a not-so-surprising hiccup, as India’s rightwing political party Shiv Sena has allegedly issued threats against the film's screening.

While Khan has attempted waving a white flag to other parties, Shiv Sena – yet the ignored one – is the latest to issue threats against the film’s release. Akshaye Rathi – a top Indian distributor of Bollywood films – took to Twitter to announce he has received threats that “distributors [will suffer] dire consequences” at the party’s hands if Raees is shown in the cinemas.

Rathi says the letters came from Shiv Sena’s Chhattisgarh wing, and has requested the actor’s fans for help in highlighting the warning. There has been no comment from Shah Rukh Khan or the party yet.

Some time back, Bollywood’s romance king was the target of similar attacks before My Name Is Khan’s release. Likewise, Karan Johar’s 2016 movie Ae Dil Hai Mushkil also became a source of controversy from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) post-Uri debacle, due to the casting of Fawad Khan.